A transfer that looked all but done fell apart in a matter of hours on Tuesday, and the reason had nothing to do with money: AEK Athens has withdrawn its offer for Hapoel Be'er Sheva's Kings Kangwa because the Israeli club would not agree to rest him for a Champions League qualifier.

According to Sport5, which cited the Greek outlet Sport 24, AEK made the sale of Kangwa conditional on him sitting out Beer Sheva's second qualifying round first leg against Iceland's Víkingur on Tuesday evening. Beer Sheva refused, insisted on fielding him regardless, and AEK immediately ended the talks.

The logic behind AEK's demand was procedural rather than football-related. Under UEFA's eligibility rules, a player who appears for one club in a European qualifying round is cup-tied for that competition's later rounds with any other club that same season — so if Kangwa played for Beer Sheva against Víkingur, he would not be able to feature for AEK later in the Champions League.

For AEK, who are building their own continental campaign, that made his availability from day one a priority worth insisting on. For Beer Sheva, giving up their in-form Zambian midfielder on the eve of a European tie they still have to win was a non-starter.

Sport5's report is explicit that the collapse was not about valuation. AEK had already agreed to meet Beer Sheva's asking price for the transfer, and personal terms with Kangwa himself were reportedly finalised. The Víkingur clause was the single sticking point, and it proved fatal.

The saga had been running for weeks, with figures moving as the two clubs negotiated. Earlier reporting had AEK's bids climbing from roughly €2.5 million to offers in the region of €3.5 million plus add-ons, against a Beer Sheva valuation closer to €4 million, while Kangwa's personal terms were said to be worth around €1 million a season.

With the deal now off, Sport5 reports AEK will turn their attention to alternative options for the wing position they had earmarked Kangwa to fill.

For Beer Sheva, the immediate business is football rather than transfer fees. The first leg against Víkingur, the reigning Icelandic champions, is being played on their artificial pitch at Víkingsvöllur, with the return leg in Israel a week later. Kangwa remains part of the squad Ran Kozuk takes into that tie.

The episode is a reminder of how often continental qualifying calendars now collide with the transfer market — a club chasing a signing has to weigh not just the fee, but whether the player can even appear for them once he arrives, and this time that calculation cost AEK a deal it had otherwise all but completed.